Conventionally, in electronic equipment having a function of recording/playback any message which is audio data, the message is recorded in a magnetic tape. There is a telephone set with a function of recording messages, from callers even during absence of an owner thereof as a representative device of this type of electronic equipment.
This telephone set with the function for recording messages from callers even during absence of an owner thereof generally records messages as well as time-stamp information indicating the time each of the messages is recorded, as a pair on the magnetic tape in order of reception. The magnetic tape then must be rewound to a desired position in order to listen to the recorded message by playing it back.
Although a driving mechanism for fast-rewinding or fast-forwarding the magnetic tape to any given position is generally incorporated as standard in the telephone for recording messages from callers during absence of an owner thereof, a certain period of time is spent according to the number of revolutions required for fast-rewinding or fast-forwarding when the driving mechanism is operated. For this reason, it is impossible to get any recorded message at a desired position instantly.
However, in recent years, it has become possible to listen to any recorded message at a desired position instantly as a result of development of the digital recording/playback technology in which recording or playback messages is executed by using an IC memory as a data storage medium.
As an analogous technology in which this type of digital recording/playback technology is applied, there are the technologies disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 1-120939 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-334893. Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 1-120939 is technology for reading digital audio information from an IC memory according to addresses each stored at a point of time when digital audio information is recorded. In the other technology, a user is informed about a break of audio data with a detection tone when a mark indicating the break is detected during fast-rewinding or fast-forwarding, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-334893.
As described above, in the digital recording/playback technology as indicated by the example of the conventional technology, the speed required for accessing and reading any message for playback is improved as compared to that in a case of magnetic tapes because the message (digital audio information or audio data or the like) is recorded in an IC memory. However, the position of each message is recorded and managed with an address or the mark when the message is recorded so that the address or mark will be a starting point when the message is played back. For this reason, playback of each message is started from a header section of the message. Hence, it is impossible to play back any message from an arbitrary position as in magnetic tapes.